Medical Cannabis and the return to work.

Of a particular frustration to the chronic pain community, is those that are able to return to part time work, but have so many flare ups and days off sick that they are not able to work to a schedule, and are unreliable workers in that sense. Most employers balk at the idea of an employee who can’t reliably manage a few short shifts per week, as there is no guarantee when the flare ups of the pain will occur. Below is a story by another sufferer of a chronic pain syndrome, that evolved from an excruciating event with a kidney stone. In this patients case moderated Cannabis use has saved the Govt thousands in hospital admissions, another few hundred in prescriptions, and with the patient actively trying to return to the workforce thanks to the relief obtained with Cannabis, one would anticipate a 5 figures per year or so saving in sickness benefits would be paid out in future.

The night before my 20th birthday I was watching TV and I started getting what I thought were period pains. They kept on getting worse and worse until I rang Healthline and told them what was happening. They told me to go into A&E and there I was told I had a kidney stone.

That passed on its own no problems, then a few months later I had the pain again, went in and they said the same thing it’s a stone, don’t stress you’ll be sweet as, here have some more morphine.

The pain started coming more and more often until I was going into A&E a couple of times a month with pain that was out of control in my lower left abdomen.

Eventually I was diagnosed with a Chronic Pain Syndrome, a neurological condition where my wiring in my nerves send out pain signals for no reason. My GP referred me to Burwood Pain Clinic and there I saw Dr Alchin and the pain team. There I was put on gabapentin in combination with an anti-depressant called Venlafaxine. Apparently these 2 drugs work well together when it comes to relieving chronic pain. I also was referred to a psychiatrist and physiotherapist.

Nothing worked and the side effects of the venlafaxine were making me SO unwell. I was also prescribed Morphine, Tramadol, Codiene, pretty much every painkiller they have which all help the pain slightly for a little bit of time but cause horrible side effects like nausea, vomiting, BAD temper, bad dreams, bad memory, dizziness, stopping in the middle of a conversation and forgetting what we were talking about, leaving stuff behind ALL the time and a whole lot of other crap.

Then after awhile they said there wasn’t any more they could do and that I was just going to have to do my best to live with it.

Before all this started I was working as a nanny in Auckland and I had to quit as I was so unreliable, I had no idea when the pain would hit and when it did all I could do is ring 111 and ask for an ambulance. I tried working part time in a supermarket deli, was fired from that too because I was 2 unreliable and took 2 much time off sick.

For 3 years since my 20th I had been going to A&E about 2-3 times a month with very strong 10/10 uncontrollable pain. More than a few times I was told GO HOME YOU’RE NOTHING BUT A DRUG SEEKER. This is one of the worst things I think, as the pain was neurological, there was no other symptoms other than pain and raised pulse/BP, so they couldn’t find a source for the pain so obviously I was faking it for attention/to get opiates. When you are in that much pain and you get told you’re faking it, you do not usually react very well, your reaction is noted in your records and the next time you go to A&E in pain the exact same thing will happen.

I started reading up on a support group for people with chronic pain which is mostly based in the US and Canada. The people on the page had such amazing stories about how MMJ helped them with their chronic pain and I had to try it.

I researched methods of using it, as I was in this for the long haul, I didn’t want to smoke it and ruin my lungs. I discovered many people were using vaporizers, the good ones have been tested and found to remove 90-95% of the extra crap that ends up in the lungs. Basically they work just be applying heat without flame to the material, and the active ingredients boil off and are inhaled, without burning the material. I have a portable one that allows me to discreetly get pain relief while out and about, allowing me to get more active without fear of being disabled by my pain while in the middle of town.

I started as soon as I could find some and I noticed my whole body relaxing as I was “vaping” it. My pain which was sitting at about 6/10 at the time went away almost completely. I thought “nah surely it wouldn’t work that fast” but it really did.

After around 2 months, one day I realized OMG I haven’t been in a&e this month!! And I didn’t go back in for about 6 months. I was amazed and I’ve never looked back.

I’m turning 26 in March and I’ve been vaping regularly for 2 years, I am about to start looking for part time work! I haven’t been into A&E for (around about) the last 6 months with the pain and the gaps between flares are getting bigger and bigger.

I personally don’t think it’s fair that someone who doesn’t even know me, has the authority to tell me “you can’t smoke that its illegal/bad for you” when it’s the only thing keeping me going!